The principal characters of Slayers, with Lina Inverse in the center.
Slayers (Japanese: スレイヤーズ Romaji: sureiyāzu) is a series of comedic sword and sorcery novels, anime, and manga created by Hajime Kanzaka. The various incarnations of the franchise focus on teenage sorceress Lina Inverse and her various companions as they travel throughout their world in pursuit of items and goals.
While the series is generally billed as a comedy, each series has a larger, serious plot that puts many of the main characters in danger they must overcome, with each plot usually culminating in a battle that will decide the fate of the world.
Media list[]
Novels[]
Three series of Slayers novels were published in Japan. The main series was the basis for the anime television series and a manga series, while the remaining two were the basis for the majority of movies and OVAs and another manga series.
Slayers[]
The main series of novels, Slayers, was published in Japan from January 1990 to May 2000, and finished with a total of 15 books. The first eight books became the basis for the Slayers and Slayers NEXT anime series and the Slayers: Super-Explosive Demon Story manga, the other seven novels were never animated or made into manga.
Dragon Magazine 10-89 Cover featuring The Prince of Saillune
Slayers Special / Slayers Smash[]
Slayers Special has been serialized in Monthly Dragon Magazine since October 1989, starting with the first known publication of Slayers in "The Prince of Saillune." It would then go on to be published in book form from 1991 to 2008, with a total of 30 books, and being continued with a name change as the Slayers Smash series, publishing 5 books of this series from 2008 to 2011. Slayers Special became the basis for both OVA series and the first four movies, in addition to the Slayers Special manga series.
Slayers Delicious[]
Slayers Delicious is a series of four books published from March 1997 to July 1999. Its stories were later incorporated into the Slayers Special novels.
Slayers Original The Motion Picture[]
Slayers Original The Motion Picture is a book containing the original scripts of three of the Slayers movies and was published in March 1999.
Slayers VS Orphen[]
Slayers VS Orphen, a joint work between Kanzaka and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen creator Yoshinobu Akita, was originally published in Monthly Dragon Magazine in March 2001, and was published in book form on June 30, 2005 and was accompanied with a radio drama.
Anime[]
Television[]
Slayers[]
Nearly all important characters from the anime series as depicted in a Slayers EVOLUTION-R eyecatch
The first season of Slayers consisted of 26 half-hour episodes and was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 7, 1995 to September 25, 1995 and was based on the first and third books of the Slayers novels.
Slayers NEXT[]
Slayers NEXT consisted of 26 half-hour episodes and was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 5, 1996 to September 27, 1996. It was based on the second and fourth through eighth books of the Slayers novels.
Slayers TRY[]
Slayers TRY consisted of 26 half-hour episodes and was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 4, 1997 to September 26, 1997. It was an original storyline, not based on any existing Slayers canon, but contained allusions to another of Kanzaka's series, Lost Universe.
Slayers REVOLUTION[]
Slayers REVOLUTION is 13 half-hour episodes and started broadcast on TV Tokyo on July 3rd, 2008.
Slayers EVOLUTION-R[]
Slayers EVOLUTION-R is 13 half-hour episodes, and was broadcasted on TV Tokyo from January 12, 2009 to April 6, 2009. It was the second half of Slayers REVOLUTION.
Movies[]
Slayers: The Motion Picture[]
Slayers: The Motion Picture, often incorrectly called Slayers Perfect, premiered in Japanese theaters August 5, 1995. It had a running time of 65 minutes, and was an original storyline, not based on any previous novel.
Slayers RETURN[]
Slayers RETURN premiered on August 3, 1996, and had a running time of 60 minutes. It was later adapted into a manga and novelized into the Slayers Original The Motion Picture book.
Slayers Great[]
Slayers Great premiered on August 2, 1997, and had a running time of 60 minutes. Its script was later novelized into the Slayers Original The Motion Picture book.
Slayers Gorgeous[]
Slayers Gorgeous premiered on August 8, 1998, and had a running time of 60 minutes. Its script was later novelized into the Slayers Original The Motion Picture book.
Slayers Premium[]
Slayers Premium premiered on December 12, 2001 as part of a winter movie roadshow that also included movies from Sakura Wars, Di Gi Charat, and Azumanga Daioh. A short feature, it had a running time of 35 minutes. It had an original storyline that was later adapted into a manga.
Original Video Animation (OVAs)[]
Slayers Special[]
Slayers Special, based on the novels of the same name, consisted of three half-hour episodes. It was released to video in Japan in 1996.
Slayers Excellent[]
Slayers Excellent, also based on the Slayers Special novels, was released to video in 1999, and also consisted of three half-hour episodes.
Manga[]
Slayers[]
Slayers, also known as Slayers Medieval Mayhem, is a one-book manga illustrated by Rui Araizumi consisting of one-shot episodes featuring Lina and Gourry Gabriev. It was serialized in Monthly Dragon Magazine as a supplement to the novels from 1991 to 1995 and was later published in book form in July 1995, only to be re-released in December 2001.
Slayers: Super-Explosive Demon Story[]
Slayers: Super-Explosive Demon Story consists of eight books illustrated by Shoko Yoshinaka. It's based mostly on the main novels 1-8 with some influence from the anime (Slayers and Slayers NEXT), and began publication in September 1995 and ended in September 2001.
Slayers Special[]
Slayers Special is a four-book series illustrated by Tommy Ohtsuka with help from Yoshihiro Komada. It is based on the novel series and OVAs of the same name and consists of one-shot episodes featuring Lina and Naga the Serpent. It was published from May 2000 to October 2001.
Slayers Premium[]
Slayers Premium is based on the movie of the same name, and was illustrated by Ohtsuka and Komada. It was serialized in Comic Dragon Jr. from September 2001 to January 2002, and was later published in book form in April 2002.
Slayers Premium Plus One[]
Slayers Premium Plus One was the epilogue to the Slayers Premium manga that was included as a bonus on the limited edition Japanese DVD release of the movie. It was also illustrated by Ohtsuka and Komada.
Slayers: Knight of Aqualord[]
Slayers: Knight of Aqualord is a six-book series that was published from May 2003 to February 2005. It was illustrated by Ohtsuka and Komada, and it had an original storyline that was revealed to be an alternate series to Slayers TRY and the final seven books of the main novel series.
Slayers REVOLUTION[]
Slayers REVOLUTION is loosely based on the anime series of the same name, and was illustrated by Issei Hyouji.
Slayers EVOLUTION-R[]
Slayers EVOLUTION-R is loosely based on the anime series of the same name, and was illustrated by Issei Hyouji.
Slayers Legend[]
Slayers Legend, a two-volume compilation from old Slayers manga, with chapters from Slayers and Slayers: Super-Explosive Demon Story. Each volume also included one chapter of the manga Slayers: The Hourglass of Falshes.
Slayers: The Hourglass of Falshes[]
Slayers: The Hourglass of Falshes is a one-book manga illustrated by Asahi, previously published in the two-volume series Slayers Legend. This is the first and only Slayers manga series to include the up to then novel-only characters Luke and Mileena.
Slayers Light•Magic[]
Slayers Light•Magic, a manga which features Lina Inverse and Gourry in a science-fiction setting.
Video games[]
Slayers[]
Slayers was released for the NEC PC-9801 computer on March, 1994.
Slayers[]
Slayers was released for the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) game system on June 24, 1994.
Slayers Royal[]
Slayers Royal was released for the Sega Saturn game system on July 25, 1997, and Sony Playstation game system on June 25, 1998.
Slayers Royal 2[]
Slayers Royal 2, the sequel to Slayers Royal, was released for the Sega Saturn system on September 3, 1998, and Sony Playstation system on July 1, 1999.
Slayers Wonderful[]
Slayers Wonderful was released for the Sony Playstation system by Banpresto on October 22, 1998.
Radio dramas[]
Slayers EX[]
Slayers EX consisted of four discs that had storylines borrowed from the Slayers Special novels, but used the characters from the Slayers anime.
Slayers N►EX[]
Slayers N►EX was released after Slayers NEXT, and was also four discs with storylines from Slayers Special.
Slayers Premium[]
Slayers Premium was a radio drama that was included with the special edition Japanese DVD of the movie with the same name.
Slayers VS Orphen[]
Slayers VS Orphen was based on the novel of the same name.
Kaette Kita Slayers EX[]
Kaette Kita Slayers EX is the radio drama included with the new DVD box sets of the anime series, released on 2006.
Trading card games[]
Slayers Fight[]
Slayers Fight was a TCG released in Japan in 1999 and 2000.
Multimedia[]
Slayers Hyper[]
The Slayers Digital Collection Series (also known as Slayers Hyper) is a series of six thematic multimedia CDs released between 1997 and 1998 for Windows 95 and Mac OS.